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Until 1925, the University鈥檚 athletic teams were without a mascot, usually referred to with unofficial nicknames鈥攕uch as the football team鈥檚 moniker of 鈥淔ighting Fools,鈥� as noted in the student newspaper, Green and White. To solve this conundrum, the University sponsored a , with a prize of $10 for the winner. After more than 100 entries and several meetings of the Athletic Advisory Board of the Men鈥檚 Union, former student .

The in 1960 thanks to the enterprising young men of Lincoln Hall and featured a brown, bearish-looking cat in a varsity sweater and beanie. In 1983, The Post announced that 鈥�.鈥� The new costume swapped the sweater for an open vest and was seen as more collegiate, but was still cartoonish; one Post opinion writer compared it to 鈥�.鈥� The costume saw yet to a slimmer, but still somewhat silly, build in the late 鈥�90s.

During much of that time, Mr. Bobcat wasn鈥檛 the school鈥檚 only mascot. Created by all-female residents of Howard Hall and debuted by Francesca (Femia) Hahn, BSC '69, the was an unofficial addition to games and Homecoming parades from 1967 to 1990. Her costume included a papier-m芒ch茅 head, a white sweater with a green 鈥淥鈥� patched on, a skirt and bloomers that read 鈥淥H-IO.鈥� The Bobkitten went dormant during the 鈥�90s, and the costume was lost. While Bobkitten has not been seen since, women weren鈥檛 left out of mascot lore entirely, as in 1995 a female student鈥斺€攄onned the official Bobcat costume .

In September 2006, the University debuted the Bobcat we know and love today. Rolling into Peden Stadium on his motorcycle, the revamped mascot was slimmed-down, tougher-looking and sported the name 鈥�,鈥� a reference to both the species name for the bobcat, Lynx rufus, and University co-founder Rufus Putnam.

After 100 years and many changes, Rufus the Bobcat stands as a beloved feature of OHIO, reflecting the spirit of the University and its students. Here鈥檚 to 100 more.

Feature photo collage: The evolution of Mr. Bobcat to OHIO鈥檚 beloved Rufus ... with some guest appearances by his onetime companion, Bobkitten. Photographs courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections and 51社区 Photography